Waste marble - another recycling application

The number of new applications for track mounted crushing and screening units is continuously increasing and no one knows how many applications might emerge. The subject depends on the innovativeness of users and manufacturers.

When they put the resources, economical, technical and spiritual together, it may result in another new way of employing the modern fleet of track-mounted units.

”Stone waste”Another aspect facing end-users is related to the environment. For instance, dimensional stone quarries produce a lot of waste materials that is usually dumped somewhere within the operation. Marmetal S.A., a Portuguese producer of the world-famous Rosa Portugal marble, recently concluded that something had to be done to the ever increasing mountains of waste marble. “Environmental aspects are nowadays becoming more and more important and new regulations issued by the European Union need to be met. As one of the first marble producers in Portugal we decided to solve this waste marble challenge ourselves,” says Marmetal managing director José A. R Delgado. ”Our objective is to create an environmentally friendly recycling process and also make a profitable business out of it. There are several applications for recycled marble, such as filler material for industrial use, cosmetic industry applications, fertilizers for agriculture, road-base materials, concrete aggregates, and landscaping material. We foresee a good market in the Spanish region of Extremadura where we sell 30 to 40 % of the recycled materials. In addition, the new high-speed train track between Lisbon and Madrid will require high quantities of the aggregates materials that we produce from waste marble.”

Two trackmounted Metso Minerals recyclersMarmetal’s new waste marble concept is geared around two track-mounted units from Metso Minerals. The crushing is handled by an LT1415, which is equipped with an impact crusher and a detachable screen module and an ST620 mobile screen. Track-mounted units were chosen because of mobility and ease of transfer between Marmetal’s several quarries.The waste marble is first hammered into a size of around 800mm, which is then crushed by the LT1415. After various processes, the mobile screen carries out the final classification. Up to five end products are produced for various end uses. Production is up to 300t/hh and the annual plan is projected to reach 300,000t gradually reducing the mountain of waste marble.www.metsominerals.com